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Adding Links in Snow Leopard's Mail

Apple Mail in Snow Leopard now has a Command-key shortcut for adding a link to an email.

If you use plain-text email, this will not be helpful at all, but if you send styled email, it's a nice shortcut for adding URLs to your email messages. Simply select the word(s) you want to make into a link, press Command-K, and enter the URL to build into the link.

Microsoft Office 2008 12.1.7 and 2004 11.5.4 Updates

Microsoft has released its latest updates for Office 2008 and Office 2004, fixing a critical security issue in both versions and reportedly improving performance. According to Microsoft, both updates address vulnerabilities in Excel that could allow remote code execution if you were to open a specially crafted malicious Excel file. While both updates also claim performance enhancements, no specific changes are mentioned in the release notes.

The Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.7 Update requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later, and that you have already installed the 12.1.0 update (the updater is a combo updater, meaning it contains all fixes since 12.1.0). It's a 267.7 MB download from Microsoft's Web site, and is also available via the Microsoft AutoUpdate utility launched by choosing Check for Updates from any Office 2008 application.

Some users have been reporting problems echoing those of previous updaters, in particular the error message, "You cannot install Office 2008 12.1.7 Update on this volume. A version of the software required to install this update was not found on this volume." Installation steps and advice for circumventing this issue are available on the Entourage Help Blog.

The Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.4 Update requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, and that you've previously installed the Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.3 Update. It's a 9.7 MB download from Microsoft's Web site and is also available via the Office 2004 version of Microsoft AutoUpdate.

A final note: Microsoft tells us that Office 2004 will reach the end of its supported life as of 13-Oct-09, and will thus no longer receive any updates. Microsoft's lengthy commitment to updating the now five-year-old software suite has been appreciated, but alas, all good things must come to an end.